Process of treating hydrocarbons



Nov. 25, 1930. J. DELATTRE-SEGUY 1,782,811

I PROCESS OF TREATING HYDROCARBONS v Filed June 28, 1926 Patented Nov.25, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JEAN DELATTRE SEGUY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL OIL PROD- 'UCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA PROCESS OF TREATING HYDROCARBONSApplication filed June 28, 1926. Serial No. 118,982.

This invention relates to improvements in process of treatinghydrocarbons, and refers more particularly to a process in which the oilis heated while in a relatively thin film, so as to insure maximumreacting contact be tween the, oil and heat units, and also to lessenthe difiiculty of carbon formation in pressure processes.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal 1o sectional View taken onlines 1-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken onlines 22 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a view'similar to Fig. 2 of a somewhat modified form of theprocess.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 designates a furnace setting having thecombustion chamher 2, burner 3, flue 4 leading to the heating chamber 5.Within this chamber 5 is'r'nounted a shell 6 adapted to withstand hightemperatures and high pressures. This shell 6 is provided with themanholes 7 and has all, except the upper portion of its inner walls,lined for example, with fire brick, as shown at 8, while the upperportion designated 9,

serves as a radiating surface through which the heat of combustionpasses into the shell. Within the shell is mounted an inclined plate 10consistingof a bottom portion 11 and side walls 12, so as form a wideshallow channel.

30 The plate is a justably mounted on supports 13 carrying jacks 14whereby the'slope of the plate may be varied; The shell is provided witha vapor outlet pipe 15 controlled by valve 16, which vapor pipe may leadto the p usual dephlegmator and other condensers well known in crackingplants, which it is not necessary to here show or describe.

Oil is fed to the plate through the transverse extending perforatednozzle 17 provided with a feed inlet pipe 18 leading to any suitablesource of oil supply. 7

The residue is drawn off the bottom of the plate through the funnel 19connected to residue drawofl pipe 20 having valve 21. Preferablysuitable air ducts 22 are provided in the upper walls of the furnacesetting to prevent the latter from becoming overheated from the intenseheat of the gases of comso busti'on.

The oil may be cracked in the following .to insure the oil passingsufliciently slowly over the plate as to give it the necessary time ofreaction. The degree of the slope will depend upon the viscosity of the011 being treated, the time of reaction required, and the length oftheplate and the extent of conversion desired. This however, will bereadily ascertained by those skilled in the art.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modified form of construction of theapparatus, in which the furnace setting is substantially dispensed with.In this figure, 23 designates the shell.

mounted as shown at 24, and having an inner lining of fire brick or likematerial, as shown The shell is provided with the vapor outlet pipe 26controlled by the valve 27, and mounted therein is an inclined plate 28,of exactly the same construction and supported in the same manner as inFigs. 1 and 2. It is also rovided with the funnel and residue drawoifcontrolled by a valve, as shown in the prior construction. The method ofheating however, is dilferent. The oil is fedto the plate in exactly thesame manner as that described in Figs. 1 and 2, the heating being inthis instance eflected by passing a he'atin medium through the retort.The trou h esignated as 29 is open at ,the upper en and extends.longitudina-lly'throu h the upper portion of the shell, and is suitalysupplied at one end with hot, molten material as for example, moltenlead'or molten glass, the trough being slightl inclined from its inletto its discharge en so as to let the molten material enter one end ofthe trough and pass out of the other.-

The arrangement is such that the heat from the hot molten materialdistils the thin film of oil on the plate through radiation andreflection, and converts a substantial-portion thereof into lighterhydrocarbons, such as gasoline and the like. Also, the action of theheat units may be such as to cause a chemical reaction of the vapors,and thus tend to treat the vapors to remove therefrom some of theobjectionable compounds.

The process of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, may be carried out under apressure of say 175-pounds, and the oil heated to a temperature of 900F. or above.

I claim as my invention:

1. A process of cracking hydrocarbon oil, consisting in passing theliquid oil in one end of a chamber, and permitting it to gravitate in arelatively wide shallow stream towards the other end of the chamber, insimultaneously heating the upper surface of said film to crackingtemperature by heat radiated by passing a stream of molten, normallysolid material in the other end of said chamber, and permitting it togravitate towards the first end thereof, and maintaining a superatmospheric pressure upon the chamber.

2. The method of cracking hydrocarbon oils which comprises flowing theoil in a relatively thin film through a cracking zone maintained undersuperatmospheric pressure and applying to the flowing film a crackingheat radiated from a heating surface spaced away from the film wherebycarbon deposition Within the cracking zone will not interfere With thetransfer of heat to the film.

3. The method of cracking hydrocarbon oils which comprises flowing theoil in a rela tively thin film over an unheated inclined surface,applying a cracking heat to the upper surface of the flowing filmwhereby carbon deposition on said inclined surface will not interferewith the transfer of heat to the film, and maintaining asuperatmospheric pressure on the oil being heated.

4. A process of cracking hydrocarbon oils which comprises flowing theoil in a relatively thin film through a cracking zone and simultaneouslyapplying a cracking heat to the upper surface of the film by heatradiated from a hot molten bath.

5. A process of cracking hydrocarbon oils zone maintained undersuperatmospheric pressure and simultaneously applying a cracking heatsolely to the upper surface of Isaid film by heat radiated from a hotmolten ath.

7. In a hydrocarbon oil cracking process of the character wherein theoil is distilled under pressure in a pressure distillation zone toproduce lighter hydrocarbons, the im' provement which comprisescontinuously introducing the oil to said pressure distillation zone atone end thereof, and flowing the same in a single pass through said zonein the form of a thin continuous, uninterrupted film not more than oneinch in thickness, applying simultaneously to the entire film whileflowing through said zone a cracking heat of at least 850 F. through awall of said zone having an area at least coextensive with said filmwhile maintaining a superatmospheric pressure in excess of 100 poundsper square inch in said zone, removing evolved vapors from said zone fordephlegmation and condensation, removing unvaporized oil from the end ofsaid zone opposite the one through which the oil was introducedimmediately upon completion of flow of the oil film therethrough andpreventing return of said unvaporized oil to said zone to therebypreclude accumulation of treated unvaporized oil therein and regulatingthe speed of travel of said film through said zone in accordance withthe viscosity of the oil and the extent of the film travel to insuresuflicient time of reaction to produce a substantial amount of lighterhydrocarbon vapors therein.

JEAN DELATTRE-SEGUY.

